Dyslexia Treatment:
 Hints and Tips for
 Parents

  Dyslexia Parents Resource

Tell us about ways in which you help and support your dyslexic child

Dyslexia Treatment: This page is your page, so please send us methods, little tricks you have developed, and other hints and tips you find helpful in dealing with your dyslexic child. (You may choose to be anonymous.)

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Using mud, painting brushes and a water pistol! - To help my son with learning the alphabet, then later, spellings homework, etc; we have a concrete wall in the garden. We used to mix up sloppy mud and use house painting brushes to paint the words and letters on the wall in mud. We would then use a water pistol to play games like 'squirt the letter b'  or to trace round the outline of a word to make the 'shape' of the word or to retrace the letters. Later in the bath (!)  we would use bath crayons on the tiles/side of the bath/his skin to reinforce what he could remember.
We also used to make footprints by drawing round his feet on colored paper and cutting them out, write letters or words on them and lay them round the room so he had to step / jump from one to the other to make the word or sentence. This would also include saying/shouting/singing what he was jumping onto. He used to enjoy making the 'route' of a spelling involve climbing over the furniture etc.  He could also use these to arrange the right order for reference to copy when writing it down if he needed to.
We also used to bake letter-shaped biscuits, bread and pizza dough, as his stomach was always a good way of focusing his attention.(G.W.)

Hiding words around the room - When my son was in first grade, he had to learn "sight" words off a "word-wall" filled with words (talk about tough for a dyslexic child!). In order to help him remember the words, I would write each word on paper and cut the paper around it. I would then hide the words around the room. As he found a word, he had to tell me which word it was. He loved this game and would even look forward to the nights when his "sight" words would come home for studying. He made 100% on most all of his tests of these words. (JC, Maryland, USA) 

Water Balloons and Chocolate Letters! - I found a new and exciting way to study spelling words with my 7-year son who has just been diagnosed with dyslexia. We write his spelling words in sidewalk chalk on the driveway. Then, we throw water balloons at them one-by-one. I call all of them out and he writes them on the driveway. Then, he reads each one and throws a water balloon at the word. This is especially helpful when you have an active boy. Last week, I got out wax paper and put in onto the kitchen table. Then, I let him write the spelling words in chocolate. He loved it, because he was able to "eat his words."(M.N.)

Shiney pages - Does the type of paper which the words are written on have an affect on the a dyslexic child?
I have found that if the paper has a slight shine to it then the children have difficulty reading common words, even if they have read them previously on flashcards. Try copying the story onto yellow paper (not bright but not too pale) or laying a piece of yellow acetate over the top of the book and see if this has any effect. Other colors to try could be blue, green or pink. The color acts as a barrier and calms the words down on the page (you may get the response that the words don't move on the page any more). Have a go. Hopefully it will work for you. It did for me!

'My son has absolutely atrocious handwriting' - My son, now a 5th grader, has absolutely atrocious handwriting. His letters not only do not sit on the line, they float across the page as if the lines are not there. If he’s using any of the lines to “guide” him, it would possibly be the top line as they tend to float at an angle towards that. He writes in tiny letters that you can barely make out, making his illegible handwriting that much more difficult to decipher. He will do this even if given the very large-lined primary handwriting paper. 
Furthermore, he never erases his mistakes, choosing instead to just write on top of what was already there, thereby making it nearly impossible to decipher. His letters are not properly formed, he writes many of them backwards (starting at the bottom instead of the top, or the tail of the “e” instead of the middle), in addition to reversing many letters. 
There is a possibility of dysgraphia. This is described in the Dyslexia Certificate course book - and on Google. If recognized/diagnosed, the problem is usually solved by having the child use a computer for writing/typing homework and exams.

Confidence Building Exercise - I sat down with my son to do the confidence-building exercise. He was so quick to list things that he is good at. We quickly filled the entire sheet of notebook paper with all the things he enjoys and feels accomplished with. full story

Hearing a Child Read - I recently has a wonderful experience when listening to the dyslexic student in my class, A.T., read aloud. full story

Reading in the Bath - I typed out lists of words or phrases that my son could read on lots of different sheets of paper in large print. Whilst he was lying in the bath relaxing, I got him to read them and praised him. This gets him to read without having to make him read a book every night. He reads about 200 words a night without realising. The paper ends up in the bath and it is all a big laugh apart from tidying up afterwards. It gets him bathed and reading all in one and he loves the attention on a one to one basis with no other distractions - apart from wet paper everywhere. (Linda, Kent)

Dyslexic Children Should Read Out Loud or in a Whisper - Dyslexic children's reading can be improved if they are allowed to read out loud or move their lips while reading. These actions activate the 'Broca's area' of the brain which remembers speech muscle movements. Broca's Area

Famous dyslexic people - One thing boosted my 11-year old's self esteem tremendously. I got on the Internet and printed him a two-page list of famous people with dyslexia. He carried it around for a couple of weeks, showed all his teachers and a few friends and still looks at it occasionally. I also tell him how Einstein and he have a lot in common - airhead type things - and we laugh and think it is a good thing. (Stacey, Texas) Famous Dyslexic People

Memory game - My 6 year old son had a simple 3-letter word list from school that he had to learn. He would not even look at the sheet (I presume because of fear of failure). It sat there for weeks. The teacher gave me the idea to turn it into a memory game. I typed up in large font two copies of the word list. I mounted them onto cardboard and cut them up. We laid them on the table face down and played a memory game with them. Every time he got a pair he had to say the word. He was so excited at playing the game that he was happy to have a try at learning the words. (A.L., Australia)

Left foot, right foot - My daughter had great trouble in her ballet dance lessons because she gets confused over left and right. We've solved it now after her teacher suggested that she wears different colored shoes - pink and blue. Now, the teacher says: 'Left foot, blue foot forward', and she knows exactly what to do, and can easily keep up with the other girls. (A.B, New York)

The Knock, Knock Game - Try this technique when you are hearing your dyslexic child read. The child reads, but knocks on the table for you to read a difficult word. Sometimes you find that they remember the word the next time it comes up in the story. You could do this the other way round but be careful not to knock on all difficult words! (M.J, Marlborough, UK)

Using Scotch tape - Sellotape - We used a number of multi-sensory approaches, one of them Scotch tape/Sellotape. We have used this simple but very effective material to make numbers and letters on the rug on the floor. It was very helpful for my dyslexic son to approach this method with numbers and letters he used to keep reversing. The physical act of creating a number with the tape would jog his memory every time he would have to write it on paper. (Y.Z., London, UK)

Hearing your child read (1) - You could play a simple game with your dyslexic child. Choose a story that the child will enjoy. Before you begin tell the child that they can only read one word every time it appears in the book. This might make the child wonder why they can only read just one of the words. If the adult reads their part of the story with enthusiasm then the child will concentrate on reading their word when it appears. The child may well ask the next night if they can read more than their one word, building up their confidence. (from 'How to Reach and Teach Children and Teens with Dyslexia' by Cynthia Stowe - USA | UK)

Hearing your child read (2) - Tom enjoys 'paired' reading, when he and I read together. He tends to let me take the lead and he echoes the words. This takes the pressure away from him and he still gets to enjoy what he is reading. Usually we will read a few pages together, then I will ask him to read the next few pages on his own. If I sense that he is getting tired, I take over the reading for a time while he continues to listen to the story. When Tom comes across an unfamiliar word, he will make an attempt to sound it out. If he cannot manage the word, I tell him the word so as not to interrupt his reading. (M. W-B., France).

Using a word processor - When I started with Andrew - who is dyslexic - on the word processor he knew how to use the font size control, but didn’t realize that if he made the font larger it would be easier to read. When we turned the brightness down on the monitor screen he said it was a lot easier to read. Yes, he would prefer to use ‘ Arial’ rather than ‘Times New Roman.’ It didn’t take Andrew long to learn how to use all of these new improvements, mainly because it made things a lot easier for him. The best thing of all was the discovery of the spell checker. He now goes to the word processor without a grumble to write his stories because his printing is always legible, his spelling is always correct and his self-esteem has doubled along with the length of his stories.(G.K., Hawkes Bay, New Zealand)

Cellular or mobile phones - There is a lot of controversy about the use of cellular/mobile phones. We were not keen on getting my dyslexic son a phone for a gift. However, as most of his friends had one, he asked for one just to be like his peers. One of the reasons we didn’t want him to have one was it is very expensive to keep. But since he got it he is always texting his friends, whether it is about sport or homework. He does not abbreviate his words and I am amazed to see the speed he has acquired in using it. His spelling in his written work has greatly improved. I am now glad we let him have the phone. I feel it has opened another line of communication for him, and for him to continue to use his spelling skills. (L.F., Co. Kildare, Ireland)

Telling a dyslexic child the words they cannot read yet - I was hearing Peter read and telling him any words he hesitated on. Peter made a deal with me that I will only tell him the words that he genuinely had problems with. He would tap my hand and I would read him the words he had a problem with. (H.N., New Delhi, India)

Reading aloud for your dyslexic child - As a parent you should never give up reading aloud for your child. It's the only way from the beginning to give your child the love for reading. Our son is slightly dyslectic and was a slow reader and up to Middle School I used to read all his book for him aloud, while he sat listening. We really enjoyed the hours spent together. Now I don't have to read anymore. When he had to read for his literature list I saw to it that he chose interesting and exciting books so that while reading he could "see the movie inside his mind". It really helped. He is a willing reader now and he has noticed that reading not only became a pleasure but also that he can read faster now. So never give up reading aloud for your child. (P.A.T., Curacao, Netherlands Antilles)

'b's and 'd's - My dyslexic son's 1st grade teacher taught him how to remember how to write his b's and d's by using his hands. He would say A, B (and make the letter 'b' with his left hand - the thumb up and fingers in a fist) C, D (do the same but use the right hand). This seems to work for him. (Janet, Longview, Texas)

'b' and 'd' - I have this problem and when I was at school to help me with my b's and d's they just wrote 'bed' because it looks like a bed and you can hear it (Carly Harris, UK)

Getting 'd' the right way round - My dyslexic son and I have found a cunning little trick to get the letter 'd' the right way round. He says: 'c, d, starts to write 'c' and continues it into a 'd'! (Rod, Los Angeles)

'b' and 'd' confusion - My dyslexic son gets b's and d's mixed up often. I bought him a bracelet for his right arm. Now he knows that "b" is for bracelet and goes in the direction of the bracelet side and "d" goes to the side of him not wearing the bracelet. (R.S., California)

'b' and 'd' - My mother taught me that if you look at the back side of your hands (palms pushed away from you and thumbs pulled out away from the other fingers) the left hand forms the letter "L" and the right hand doesn't.  I still find myself using this today
while driving!  (S.H.)

Letters with tails - I find that the D'Nealian manuscript alphabet works better than the Zane Bloozer, because it makes greater differentiations between the letters with its monkey tails. The child can try writing the letter with their finger when they are stuck trying to decide, which is a "b" or a "d". (L.S., Atlanta, GA)

Shaving cream - My dyslexic 8-year old daughter hates practicing her spelling words. So while she is taking her bath we smooth shaving cream onto the wall so she can write the words with her finger. When she needs to try again we can just smooth out the shaving cream. We have also used peanut butter smeared on a paper plate and wrote the words with carrots! (Carla, North Dakota, USA)

Bath foam - Jake is 10 years old, dyslexic, and hasn't enjoyed spelling. So I bought a bath foam that comes in colors; I spray it on the glass table top and he writes the words into it. If he should get it wrong I correct it with him and then he says the letters forward and backwards a couple of time and then says the work. He also closes his eyes and says the letters forward and backwards. The last two tests he has scored 100. (P, USA)

Learning Tables with Egg Cartons - 'I have found it useful to present children with egg cartons and seeds and asking them to put groups of seeds into each little pot. I mark the egg carton’s pots with the numbers of the times table I am working with, so if it’s the 3 times table I will mark the first pot with a 3, then 6, 9, 12 etc. Then I will ask the child to put 3 seeds in 3 different pots. The child then can read the pot and learn what number that is and understand that 3 seeds in 3 pots each will equal 9.'
(Jennifer Estavillo Galsworthy lives in Mexico and is a student on the Dyslexia Certificate course).

Reading Instructions game: the Search for Treasure - I used to encourage my dyslexic 7-year old boy to read by hiding his pocket money and making several written short notes to help him find it like:look in the kitchen drawers, look under your bed, go to the window, and so on untill he finds his pocket money. He liked the game so much and had to read the notes. (N.J.)

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